Irish Mortgage Lending Limits 2026: How Much Can You Borrow?

The Central Bank of Ireland sets mortgage lending rules that cap how much regulated lenders can advance, measured against a borrower's income and against the value of the property. These macroprudential measures apply to all banks and lenders operating in Ireland and exist to keep household borrowing sustainable and to prevent the kind of credit-fuelled price spirals that preceded the 2008 crash. The framework was reviewed in 2023, when the first-time-buyer income limit was raised, and those rules remain in effect. Two limits work together: the loan-to-income (LTI) cap and the loan-to-value (LTV) cap.

Loan-to-Income (LTI) Limits

The LTI rule caps the mortgage at a multiple of gross annual income. For a joint application, the limit applies to the combined gross income of both borrowers.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) Limits

The LTV rule caps the mortgage as a share of the property's purchase price, which fixes the minimum deposit you must provide from your own resources.

Both limits bind at once, so the amount you can borrow is whichever of the two produces the lower figure. A first-time buyer earning 80,000 is capped at 320,000 by income, but if the property costs 300,000 the 90 percent LTV rule caps the loan at 270,000, requiring a 30,000 deposit. The LTV limit is the binding constraint in that example, not the income multiple.

Exception Allowances

Lenders may exceed the limits for a limited share of their new lending each year. Up to 15 percent of the value of new first-time-buyer mortgage lending can breach the LTI cap, and a smaller allowance applies to second and subsequent buyers. These exceptions are at the lender's discretion, are not an entitlement, and are typically used early in the calendar year before a bank's annual allowance is consumed. If you believe your circumstances justify an exception, raise it directly with the lender; approval is never guaranteed.

Stress Testing on Top of the Caps

Meeting the Central Bank limits is necessary but not sufficient. Lenders are separately required to assess affordability by stress-testing repayments at an interest rate above the rate actually offered — commonly around 2 percentage points higher — to confirm you could still meet the payments if rates rise. They also assess your existing commitments, savings record, and spending. As a result you may be approved for less than the LTI and LTV rules would technically permit, particularly if you carry other loan repayments.

What Counts as a First-Time Buyer

The higher 4-times income multiple and 90 percent LTV apply only to first-time buyers, so the definition matters. For the Central Bank rules a first-time buyer is someone who has not previously drawn down a mortgage on a residential property in Ireland or elsewhere. A buyer who has owned before, or who is moving from one home to another, falls under the 3.5-times income and 80 percent LTV limits even if they currently own nothing. Where two people apply jointly, both must qualify as first-time buyers for the application to receive first-time- buyer treatment; if one has a prior mortgage, the stricter limits apply to the whole loan. Recent changes have extended first-time-buyer status to some applicants who previously owned but have since divorced or gone through insolvency, so check your specific situation with the lender rather than assuming.

Working Out Your Repayment

Once you know your maximum borrowing figure under both caps, the next question is what the monthly repayment looks like. Use the mortgage repayment calculator to estimate the monthly payment, the total interest paid over the term, and the total amount repayable for any principal, interest rate, and term combination, so you can test whether a given purchase price is comfortably within your budget rather than merely within the regulatory limits.